Caitríona Redmond: Streaming services' costs add up for Irish consumers 

Has the Irish fascination with streaming gone too far, and is it costing us needless euros every year that would be better spent elsewhere?

As the early entrant to the market, Netflix is the first streaming service that we would all be familiar with, but many others have followed suit to take advantage of the Irish fascination with TV. Picture: iStock

I may be ageing myself a little here when I tell tales of holding the rabbit ears in my hand and moving in minuscule steps around the sitting room to try and get the best signal and the least ‘snow’ on the television. At least then we didn’t have to pay for the TV, although it was a little bit of a saga to receive the optimal channels.

Growing up in the east of the country, we all knew when the weather was good, we could even pick up on the signal from the UK and tune in BBC and ITV channels. Forget about it if it was lashing rain outside with wind — we were stuck with RTÉ, and we could like it or lump it.

What happened to the rabbit ears? Over time, they became defunct as Saorview, the digital terrestrial television service, became the replacement for the analogue television. In practice, our newer TVs have an inbuilt receiver, or we have to plug in a digital receiver. It’s also fiddly to switch between Saorview and ‘Freeview’, which is the UK-based version.

There was a time when households either had the aerial, or, if they were incredibly lucky, a satellite dish, which indicated they had Sky. A box would sit under the television and magically hold hundreds of channels, while we could find nothing to watch.

Some of these boxes even recorded and held TV shows for watching later. For some families, this was groundbreaking; no longer did they have to wait and punch the record button on the VCR or have to calculate the fast-forward duration of an ad break.

With the arrival of broadband and speedy wifi though, many households opted for streaming rather than classic terrestrial television channels. This includes mine, where streaming was a way to protect my young family from incessant advertising. I honestly can’t remember the last time I sat down to watch a show with ad breaks.

If you think I’m talking about a time in distant history, you might be surprised to learn Netflix only started streaming in Ireland just over 14 years ago in 2012. It was apparently adopted faster than Facebook and Twitter at the time, and rapidly became a fixture in many Irish households.

In a 2024 report, Deloitte calculated 59% of Irish consumers had access to Netflix and 87% of adults use free streaming services.

As the early entrant to the market, Netflix is the first streaming service we would all be familiar with, but many others have followed suit to take advantage of the Irish fascination with TV. Be it reality shows, drama, movies, or even international sport, streaming is the window through which we can gain access to the world. Streaming does come at a price, however, and it can certainly add up to an expensive pastime.

Each of the streaming sites works on a subscription basis, and whereas customers previously needed a set-top receiver to watch Sky (for example), nowadays all we need is a decent broadband signal and a smart device. This could be a smart TV, or a mobile phone or tablet.

Subscriptions guarantee the companies a set income that arrives regularly and helps finance future TV shows or movies.

The lowest monthly Netflix subscription costs €10.99 per month. According to the 2022 census, there were 1.8 million households in Ireland. From a (very) basic calculation, if 59% of those households have access to Netflix at the lowest rate of subscription, that could potentially equate to an annual figure of €140m in subscription fees paid to Netflix.

The hook for each of the subscription platforms is their top TV shows or movies.

Apple TV, costing €9.99 per month, is the home of Ted Lasso and Slow Horses, both of which will add a new series in 2026.

Now TV (the streaming version of Sky) is home to the world of George RR Martin, such as House of the Dragon, and All Her Fault, the adaptation of the Andrea Mara novel.

In 2027, however, these series will be available on HBO Max — a new entrant to the streaming market, and costs will start at €5.99 per month.

Consumers can pay for a combined HBO/Now TV subscription. (I’ve detailed all the existing basic-level monthly and annual costs of the main Irish streaming providers below). You can see how it would be easy to slip into spending a significant amount of money on TV services.

Name	Monthly cost
Apple TV	€9.99
Disney +	€10.99
Hayu	€6.99
HBO Max	€5.99
Mubi	€13.99
Netflix	€10.99
Now TV Cinema	€11.99
Now TV Entertainment	€4.99
Paramount +	€5.99
Prime Video	€6.99
Sky Sports Package	€27
YouTube Premium	€13.99
Total:	€129.89

In a world where the cost of living feels more like a long saga than a crisis, it’s likely all the streaming platforms will try to maximise their income in the coming years.

How they do that without discommoding customers will be interesting to watch.

Some may opt to keep their prices low, but to introduce viewers to advertising instead, which is, from my perspective, the reason why we moved to streaming in the first place.

Whether the newest entrant to the Irish streaming market will bring prices down to keep prices lower for us all will be interesting to watch.

Redmond recommends 

There are plenty of options for free streaming if you don’t want to pay upfront or join a subscription service. These include the RTÉ Player and Virgin Media Play, but Irish consumers can also watch Channel 4 and YouTube free, provided you are prepared to watch advertisements periodically.

Don’t forget, streaming television is classed as the same as watching a physical TV. You will still need a TV licence, which costs €160 annually or €13.33 per month. Those in receipt of the household benefits package, including those aged over 70 and in receipt of carer’s allowance, are entitled to a free TV licence, but must apply separately to receive the licence.